EDITOR@WORK: quick edit

A writer just chose the wrong word:

Whose to say the Packers won't repeat history once again?

That ought to be who is rather than whose.

Here's another sentence:

The Packers haven't had a kick returned for a touchdown in 10 seasons (Allen Rossum, 2000).

Actually, the Packers haven't returned a kick for a touchdown in 10 seasons.

That was correct when this was written; the Packers' Randall Cobb returned a kick 108 yards on Thursday night.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Friday, February 4, 2011

Editing attribution

I often disagree with the way some newspapers handle attribution. Take this sentence:

“It’s a case with a lot of these kids, they’re people you want no matter what; they’re the best you’re waiting on,” Tom Bradley, the Penn State defensive coordinator, said in a telephone interview.

I'd change the last part of that to this: ... said Tom Bradley, Penn State's defensive coordinator.

I don't think you need the fact that they did a telephone interview.

On the other hand, I might handle this one differently.

"This is the first I'm hearing about this," Tony Wyllie, Redskins senior vice president, said in a phone interview with Redskins beat reporter Jason Reid.

I might edit it to the Redskins' senior vice president, but I might leave the rest. You need to get Jason Reid in there. On the other hand, you could change the end of that sentence to team official Tony Wyllie said in a phone...

You could put Wyllie's title in the next paragraph. I hate complicated attribution.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE